Mechanical switches are used in many applications for controlling the operation of a given device. Switches with mechanical moving parts are familiar and relatively simple, but suffer from problems common to all mechanical devices, including physical deterioration due to normal usage.
There have been several proposed devices that switch light beams using electro-optic or photorefractive materials. Operation of one or more devices may then be controlled by the changing direction of the light beams. Many of these devices use Kerr cells to change an index of refraction in the electro-optic or photorefractive material, but Kerr cells require high voltages to switch the beam direction. The high voltages required make these types of switches impractical for consumer devices.
There is a need for a switchable or scannable optical device that does not experience the shortcomings of currently known devices.